


Come On Home

by Facepalming_Guardian_Angel1311



Series: Dance With Me [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Don't tell him I said that lol, Dumbledore Bashing, Dumbledore is a Dumbledick, F/M, First book of...idk, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hogwarts First Year, It's 2:34 am, Minor Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, Orphanage, Orphans, Tags Are Hard, They are infants, Tommy needs a hug, good bois, i love them, jk, look at my babies go, my children, send help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 20:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15057626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Facepalming_Guardian_Angel1311/pseuds/Facepalming_Guardian_Angel1311
Summary: This is the first book in my Dance With Me series. Cecilia Santos loses her entire family in a house fire and her world is flipped upside down. Now she's an orphan and alone in the world. Until she meets Tom Riddle, a boy who can talk to snakes and grow flowers out of nothing, just like her. Together they may just rule the world.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friends! This is my first time posting a story so I am both very nervous and very excited. Please tell me what you think! I have a lot planned for my babies so hang tight! Any familiar characters you recognise belong to the great and powerful JK Rowling.

Cecilia walked solemnly through the crowded streets of London, away from her home, or what was left of it. Cecilia’s house had been damn near burned to the ground in a terrible house fire that killed her mother, father, and her two sisters. She had been away at her boarding school when the overloaded outlets sparked and flared, catching on the curtains and beginning the fire. The twins, Lily and Michelle, had been just three years old at the time, far too young to go to school and her mother stayed at home and her father had come home early that night. It was a perfect storm. Her neighbor’s had seen the house alight and called the fire department. Her family had been found in their respective rooms, sleeping. They had died from smoke inhalation. They hadn’t even had the chance to wake up and attempt to flee for their lives. The authorities had contacted Cecilia’s school which, in turn, told Cecilia the earth-shattering news.

She was now an orphan and she had no family left to care for her so off she went to Wool’s Orphanage. Cecilia was still in shock. She had cried and cried for hours after learning of the death of her entire family. Everything she knew and loved had gone up in flames. The constables had all been extremely kind to her, despite the fact that they were busy with the rest of the investigation into the house fire, one was even guiding her to the orphanage. The paramedics had given her a blanket to cling onto in her shock and mourning once she had been brought to Scotland Yard. There wasn’t really anything else they could do for the poor girl; they couldn’t bring her family back.

She had not only lost her family and her home but she had also lost her school. She had been going to a private boarding school that she could no longer afford to attend. So she lost her family _and_ any friends she had made at school. The constable looked back at her and gave her a look of sympathy as they came upon the gates of Wool’s. He knelt himself down to her level.

“Are you ready, lovie?” He asked her kindly. She nodded slowly. He gave her a small smile and a business card. _Officer James Moore Scotland Yard,_ it read, also listing phone number underneath his name. “You call this number if you need anything at all, alright?” She nodded again, tears filling her eyes. The man quickly wrapped the nine-year-old in a tight hug and rubbed her back in a soothing manner. Cecilia hugged him back, needing human comfort more than anything right now. He released her only when her cries had slowed to whimpers but kept his hands on her shoulders and dried her tears with his handkerchief.

“Thank you, sir,” Cecilia said meekly, attempting to give his hanky back. He gave her a smile and shook his head.

“You keep it, love. I have others. I’ll need your name to tell to the matron, is that okay?” He asked her kindly. She nodded.

“I’m Cecilia, Cecilia Teresa-Marie Santos,” she provided.

“That’s a beautiful name, darling, may I call you Cece?” The little girl nodded again. “I’m Jim Moore but you can call me Jimmy, okay?” Cecilia smiled a small smile but it was something. “I know today has been a very, very hard day. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now, love, but I need for you to be brave alright? And again, like I said, call me anytime you need something, ask for Jim Moore, and they’ll direct it to me. I’ll try to help you any way I can,” Jimmy instructed the girl, who nodded and gave the bobbie another hug. Jimmy unwrapped himself from the hug after a moment, took the girl’s hand, and opened the iron gates of the orphanage.

He hated the idea of leaving this poor little girl here, in a place that seemed to sag with the weight of children’s sadness. He had personally wanted to adopt the girl but he was certain his wife wouldn’t approve of taking her home with him like some sort of lost puppy. And the fact of the matter was, she wasn’t the only little girl who had become an orphan this _week_ even, but that didn’t make her situation any less tragic or her pain any less real. Many of his fellow officers had become hardened to the nature of their job but he refused to be one of them. He wanted to help this girl in any way he could and maybe, just maybe, that would be enough to squash his guilt for leaving her here, in a place where happiness went to die.

They walked up the path, hand in hand, and Jim knocked firmly on the heavy wooden door. A few moments later, the door creaked open loudly, revealing a woman that could only be described as grey. She seemed to exude misery and suffering from her nearly gaunt form. Her skin was ashen, her dark hair streaked with strands of white, and, though Jim knew her to be around thirty, she looked about fifty. She looked at Cecilia with a look of near contempt, then at Jim. She straightened herself up and plastered a smile on her face that didn’t reach her dull blue-grey eyes.

“What can I do for you, Constable?” She asked in an overly sweet tone.

“I’ve got little Cecilia here who’s just lost her mum, dad, and sisters. I’m here to take care of the paperwork and all that nasty stuff for her,” Jim said dutifully, giving the little girl a smile which she tried to return but it came out slightly watery. He squeezed her hand lightly. She squeezed his back, letting him know that she was alright. The matron watched the exchange with growing impatience.

“Alright then, right this way,” the older woman directed them to her tiny office. The orphanage was even worse on the inside. It was so gloomy and sad, he wondered how anyone managed to live here. The matron took a seat behind her desk. “I’m Mrs. Cole, by the way.”

“Good to meet you, Mrs. Cole,” Jimmy said kindly. He pulled out a chair for Cece to sit on and once she sat, he did the same.

“Pleasure,” Cecilia told her mousily. Mrs. Cole nodded, seemingly satisfied with their responses. She got out several official documents and a pen and prepared to write.

“Full name?” Mrs. Cole began to question the pair robotically.

“Cecilia Teresa-Marie Santos,” Jimmy stated for the girl. Mrs. Cole asked Cecilia to spell it for her, to ensure there were no mistakes, the girl did.

“Date of birth?” Mrs. Cole was scribbling down the information rapidly.

“October 31, 1926,” Cecilia provided, knowing that she’d likely have to pick it up from here as Officer Jimmy didn’t know all these things.

“Parent’s names?”

“Marcus Jameson Santos and Mary Teresa Santos neé Adams,” Mrs. Cole’s questioning continued much in this vein, parent’s dates of birth, sibling’s names, their dates of birth, paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Once almost every family member she knew of was listed, all of them were either deceased, didn’t live in the country, or didn’t know she existed, they moved on to her criminal record which was non-existent, then her place of birth which was London, England, and on and on.

When Mrs. Cole decided that she was done questioning Cecilia, Jimmy gave the girl a final hug and a small kiss on the forehead, wishing her luck and reminding her that she could call him. She thanked the officer once more and held back tears as he left. She was all alone now. Except for Mrs. Cole, but she clearly didn’t like her so she figured the woman wasn’t going to be much of a companion. The matron gave her a quick walk around the facilities, told her the rules, gave her a pile of clothes all in varying shades of grey, toiletries, and showed her the room in which she would be staying.

“There isn’t any more room in the girl’s wing so you’ll be over here by Tom,” the older woman explained, gesturing to the door across the hall from what was to be her room. “He pretty much has his own wing, hence why you’ll be by him. Don’t get in the boy’s way and you’ll be fine. If you _do_ , however, manage to cross him...well, just don’t cross him, it’s a bad idea,” Cecilia was incredibly confused but, before she could ask the woman any questions, she was gone. The girl gave out a little huff and walked into her assigned room. She dropped the clothes and bathroom items Mrs. Cole had given her onto the bed. Well, to be honest, it was more of a cot than a bed.

Cecilia sighed heavily and walked out of the room to stand in front of the boy’s, Tom, room. She debated whether or not to knock for a moment or two until she decided to give it a go and knocked politely on Tom’s door. There was no answer. She knocked again, slightly more insistent this time. Still no answer. She knocked a third time just a little bit louder than the time before and the door swung open, revealing an angry-faced boy with black hair and dark blue eyes. Cecilia jumped in shock at the door being opened so suddenly and at the angry look on her neighbor’s face.

“What do you want?” He growled.

“I’m new here and I just thought I’d introduce myself but it seems I’ve come at a bad time, I’ll leave you alone then,” Cecilia told him gently, turning to walk away. Tom was not used to gentleness in any way, shape, or form so to have some strange girl come to his door with nothing but friendliness on her mind sort of shocked him. There was no ulterior motive for her. She simply wanted to say hello to the strange boy she had been warned against. Of course, Tom had heard Mrs. Cole warning the girl off him but here she was, still willing to talk to him. _Interesting_ , he thought. He caught her wrist and lightly pulled her back toward him.

“No, you’re alright, I shouldn’t have snapped at you,” That was as close as Tom ever got to apologizing, telling people that he shouldn’t have done something. And he only did _that_ when he felt he had to. In this case, he could see that this girl was special. There was something about her that made her seem...familiar to him. He wanted to know more about her so he had to play nice. It apparently worked, his almost-apology. The girl was smiling wide now.

“My name’s Cecilia Santos, what should I call you?” Cecilia asked him, sticking her hand out for him to shake. He took it and felt a jolt of electricity, slightly stronger than a static shock. She had felt it as well if her jumping and retracting her hand was anything to go by. She murmured an apology, blushing brightly.

“It’s fine, I’m Tom, Tom Riddle,” he introduced, attempting to push past the shocked silence they had fallen into. “Would you,” Tom fumbled with his words for a moment. “Would you like to come inside?” He asked, gesturing at his room behind him. Cecilia’s light brown eyes brightened and she nodded. Tom opened the door further and stepped to the side, letting her in. He never let the other children in his room, especially not girls, but Cecilia was special, like him and he knew it. He could feel it. And he was going to make sure that he was right. She sat in the chair at his desk as Tom walked over to his bed and sat as well. “Can I ask you something, Cecilia?”

“Yes, of course, Tom,” she answered immediately. Tom smiled a smile that looked more like a smirk.

“Have you, say, knocked something over without touching it? You just thought _I want to knock that over_ and it happened?” Tom wasted no time it seemed. Cecilia was surprised at the admittedly bizarre question. No one had ever asked her anything like that before. But then she thought about it and realized that she _had_ , in fact, done something of that nature before. Several times actually. She told him so. A genuine smile lit up Tom’s face. “It’s happened to me too, a lot, that’s why I asked. Because you just seem...I dunno, _special_ like how I am. I can talk to snakes, what about you?”  

“I’ve never tried before, so I’m not sure. But I can make plants and things grow faster when I want them to,” Tom and Cecilia talked like this for about an hour or so until they decided to go out into what Tom called the garden, which was really overselling the measly patch of land.

“Let’s see if we can find a snake to talk to,” Tom suggested excitedly. Cecilia nodded emphatically, wanting to see if they shared the same talent.

“And I’ll see what I can do about this garden, it’s really quite sad, even if it _is_ fall,” she added, giggling. Tom nodded in agreement. The orphanage’s garden was really nothing but a patch of grass that had less weeds than the rest of the yard and a very small smattering of dying flowers interspersed throughout the patch.

“Let’s find a snake first and then you can make the flowers grow,” Tom said decidedly and Cecilia agreed. They looked around for quite a while for a snake, getting very dirty in the process. Eventually, they found one, hiding in its hole. When Tom coaxed the snake out to talk to them Cecilia found that she could understand Tom despite the fact that she could _see_ he wasn’t speaking English but she could hear him as if he was. Her amber eyes went wide in excitement.

“Tom!” She whisper-shouted so she didn’t scare the snake off. “I can understand you when you talk to it!” Tom’s navy blue eyes widened as well. She had just spoke like how he spoke to the snake! Only her accent was...off. It wasn’t really _bad_ or anything, just... _different_. He didn’t even feel the need to mention it to her it was so miniscule.

“You’re speaking just like I do to Serpens!” He exclaimed. Cecilia looked excited, then her nose scrunched in confusion.

“Serpens? Who’s that?” She asked.

“I named all of the snakes in this garden and I remember all of them, this one is named after the constellation Serpens,” Tom explained and Cecilia nodded in understanding.

“That’s amazing, Tom, and really quite sweet,” Cecilia told him, trying to hide her blushing. Tom still saw it anyway and gave her a small smile. She tucked a strand of light brown hair behind her ear and ducked her head slightly. She cleared her throat quickly, raising her head once again, squaring her shoulders.

“Let’s see if you can talk to him,” Tom suggested. He watched as Cecilia talked to Serpens just as he had. She asked the bright green garden snake if he could understand her. Serpens told her he could. He also mentioned her accent, much to Tom’s dismay. But she was so excited that she didn’t seem to care. Her eyes lit up with such glee that Tom couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He knew she was special like him. He knew they shared the same talents. She wasn’t like any of the other children in the orphanage, she was just like him and that meant she was his equal. She was _real_ and everyone else was plastic, a bunch of dolls pretending to be people. She was _different_ . She was _powerful_ . She was _his_ . _He_ had found her. _He_ had known she was different and _he_ had shown her that she was special so that made her his, _right_? Tom decided that it did.

So they became friends. Tom watched her as she made the previously dead flowers bloom with life and vibrant colour. The flowers withered, he noticed, as they walked away but blossomed once more whenever she walked past them. She taught him how to make the flowers grow but his roses always had one too many thorns and his daisies lacked the luster that hers possessed. His roses were always a deep shade of blood red while hers varied from a clean and beautiful white to a bright, gleaming yellow to a dusty rose pink to a candy apple red. It depended on her mood, really, what colour her roses were. She told him that he would get the hang of it soon. He practiced growing flowers almost constantly, at night when he should have been asleep, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, despite Cecilia’s scolding. He even practiced while at school, growing small sprigs of lavender in his textbooks. He always gave his flowers to Cecilia. She put them in her chestnut brown hair. It made Tom smile to see them there.

The other children wondered where Tom and Cecilia got all these flowers. Most figured that Tom had bullied a florist into giving the flowers to them. The children at the orphanage were going to befriend Cecilia at first, but when they saw her and Tom walking to dinner together that first night, both of them covered in dirt, they knew she’d either be trouble or dead soon, so no one bothered. Cecilia didn’t mind. And Tom most certainly didn’t either. They were perfectly happy to only be friends with one another and not having to worry about anybody else but each other.

Mrs. Cole gave them a firm scolding about the state of their clothes when they walked into dinner on the first night. Well, she _tried to_ anyway. Tom gave Mrs. Cole the coldest look he could muster, a look that froze the matron’s blood in her veins. She hated interacting with that boy. He was always up to no good and frightening the other children and now he was corrupting another child. Sure, she didn’t like that Cecilia girl much but Mrs. Cole could _not_ handle another Tom Riddle. She attempted to continue her scolding but realized that both of them were gone, having simply walked away from her to grab their food and sit down. They were chatting quietly at the far end of the table, since none of the others wanted to sit next to them, she had even noticed the little girl saying Grace and asking Tom to join her, he did. Tom _never_ said Grace before meals and now, upon Cecilia’s request, he actually did. _Maybe this pairing isn’t so bad after all_ , Mrs. Cole thought to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, my friends! I'm posting another chapter at a random hour on the same day bc I'm trash. I hope you like this chapter, friends! Thank you so much for reading and giving me some precious time out of your day! Again, any recognizable characters belong to the lovely JK Rowling. My OC is mine. Thank.

For the next two years, the pair continued to keep to themselves. They talked to snakes together and grew flowers together and said Grace together. But mostly, they read. They read  _ everything _ they could get their hands on. They even taught themselves Latin just to be able to read the books meant for the older children who had already taken the course. Tom and Cecilia were both incredibly intelligent and had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

Their teachers  _ adored _ them, praising the two of them as often as possible, mostly in front of the whole class. Tom reveled in the attention, Cecilia was much more modest about it, often blushing brightly whenever she was brought up to the front of the class. Tom always felt proud of Cecilia whenever she was called to the front of the room by the teacher in order to demonstrate something, even if she alone was called up and not him. It was an unusual feeling for Tom, feeling pride for other people’s accomplishments but he supposed, since it was Cecilia, it was fine. Cecilia felt the same way whenever Tom was called up by himself. 

Cecilia had called Officer Jimmy several times over the years, the first time was to tell him how she was settling in and all that. She told him about Tom and how good of friends they were. She didn’t tell him about the snakes and the flowers though, she knew that would sound odd to the man. He visited on Christmas, her birthday, which he remembered from when they had done paperwork with Mrs. Cole, and Tom’s birthday as well once Cecilia and he had pried the date out of the boy. He even brought presents for her and Tom, saying that just because they didn’t have family didn’t mean that nobody cared. And Officer Jimmy became one of the  _ only _ people who cared for the two little orphans, taking them for walks in parks and showing them around Scotland Yard. The other constables and bobbies took a liking to the two of them as well, giving them sweets and biscuits whenever Jimmy brought them to the station.  

It was soon noticed that, even when they were going on trips to Scotland Yard with Officer Jimmy or to the beach with the rest of the orphans, the two of children were never without each other. The pair of them became inseparable. You rarely found one without the other and, if you did, the one would be looking for the other. By the time time that the two of them were eleven years old, their friendship was stronger than ever. They were sat on Tom’s bed one afternoon, reading, when Mrs. Cole knocked.

“There’s a visitor for you both, look sharp,” she called. Her voice was slurred. She had been drinking again. Mrs. Cole picked up the habit of drinking after her husband passed a year and a half ago. She wasn’t even drinking to drown out the pain anymore, she drank just to get by now. The door opened. Standing next to the swaying Mrs. Cole was a tall man with auburn hair and the most ridiculous suit the pair had ever seen. Cecilia and Tom exchanged a look and then turned back to the man. Mrs. Cole had left at this point and the strange man had invited himself in. 

“Hello, Cecilia. Hello, Tom,” the man acknowledged them both. “My name is Professor Dumbledore,” Cecilia became concerned, Mrs. Cole had tried, and failed due to the children’s connections to Scotland Yard, to have them both examined psychologically. Maybe she had found some sort of a loophole and was going to have them taken away. Tom shared his friend’s concern but was more annoyed with the look in Dumbledore’s eyes. It was a look that seemed to speak of an all-knowing power  _ nobody _ possessed. Dumbledore sat on the chair at Tom’s desk. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here,” he began. “I am here to represent Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and to give you these,” he reached into his suit and presented the two with identical parchment envelopes with their names and their individual addresses, right down to their rooms, scrawled on them in black ink, not from a pen but the type you’d find in an inkwell.  _ What in the world? _ The pair thought, looking at each other in shock. They flipped the envelopes over only to see a wax seal of a crest sealing the letters. The crest had a coat of arms that was split into fours: the top left section had a lion, the top right had a snake, the bottom left had a honey badger, and the bottom right had an eagle. Above the coat of arms was a banner that simply said  _ HOGWARTS _ and below it was a banner that said  _ DRACO DORMIENS NUNQUAM TITILLANDUS _ , which was Latin for ‘do not tickle the sleeping dragon’.  _ What the hell kind of school is this? _ Tom thought. He could tell by the look on her face that Cecilia was thinking much the same thing. They looked at each other shrugged and then opened the letters. As they began to read their acceptance letters to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Dumbledore began to speak again. “I’m sure you both have many questions, it is my job to attempt to answer them,” and so, the inquisition began.

“Is this some sort of sick joke? A Magic school? Is this some way to get us committed without actually doing it?” Tom went in first.

“No, Tom, this not a joke, you are both Wizards, well Cecilia here is a Witch of course. Now I know this is a shock to you but this is not a trap to harm you or whatever you may think. It is a school for children just like you to learn and grow their Magic,” Dumbledore explained calmly.

“So there are other people like us?” Cecilia asked both excited and dejected, she was happy that she and Tom weren’t the only ones who could do special things,  _ Magic _ apparently, but she and Tom had always liked the idea that they something special, something  _ unique _ and to find out there was a whole  _ school _ full of people like them, well, it took the wind out of her sails. She could tell it upset Tom as well.

“There’s an entire  _ world _ of people like you. You are not alone,” Dumbledore said in an attempt to be comforting. It didn’t work.

“Oh,” Tom started sadly. “We just thought that we were different from the rest of the world,” Dumbledore pursed his lips.

“Well every Witch and Wizard has a unique type of Magic to give to the world. Since one normally is able to discern their gifts at about this age, why don’t you tell me what you both can do?” He was trying to cheer them up, they knew, although it was a lousy job really but they told him anyway.

“We can grow flowers out of nothing, we can make dying plants bloom again, we can move things without touching them, we can make animals do things we want without training them,” Tom began to list.  

“All of that is quite common, although I must say that the growing flowers from nothing is very much impossible, you must be changing the flower from something else into the flower form,” Dumbledore told them seriously. Deciding that they would prove the man wrong, the pair cupped their hands and then slowly opened them, both of them revealing a small flower blossoming in their hands before Dumbledore’s very eyes. Cecilia had grown a bright yellow daisy and Tom had made a beautiful white rose. The girl smiled and placed her flower in the lapel of Tom’s coat, he blushed lightly and quickly plucked his rose out of his hands and tucked it behind her right ear, causing her to blush as well, giving the boy a smile. There were no thorns on his rose this time. Dumbledore sat astonished. This pair of misfit orphans had done the impossible, they had made something out of nothing. And they had done it right in front of him. He could not deny what he saw. He then remembered something Mrs. Cole had said, something he wanted to address. When he figured out where he best thought the boy would hide things, he silently set it on fire. It was his wardrobe. The girl screamed and jumped into Tom’s arms, crying while the boy looked at the professor in confusion, shock, and anger as he wrapped his arms around Cecilia, to comfort her.

“What are you doing?! She’s terrified of fire, she lost her family in the blazes of one only two years ago!” Tom cried out over the roaring of the flames. Dumbledore looked shocked then ashamed, dousing the fire immediately.

“I apologize, I didn’t realize fire scared you so, child,” Dumbledore tried to soothe Cecilia. When he realized that it wasn’t going to work, he stood to inform the pair why he had set the wardrobe on fire in the first place. “I was told by Mrs. Cole that you’ve been stealing things, thievery is not tolerated at Hogwarts,” the man declared.

“We’ve never stolen anything!” Cecilia exclaimed, still shrunken into Tom’s side but her face was irate. “All that was in that wardrobe was clothes, provided by the orphanage, books, also provided by the orphanage, and presents from Officer James Moore of Scotland Yard. Check if you don’t believe me. Talk to the Yard if you have to. We didn’t steal  _ anything _ from  _ anyone _ !” Tom nodded in affirmation.

“Go on, take a look, Mrs. Cole has always hated us so of course she would say something like that to you!” Tom insisted. Dumbledore looked. Everything that was in there was as Cecilia described. The newest present hadn’t even been unwrapped, therefore it’s tag still read  _ To: Tom From: Officer Jimmy Happy 11th birthday, Tom. Margaret and I wish you all the best. I hope you like this one, it’s a first edition.  _ He took the package out of the wardrobe and showed it to the pair.

“Why would an officer at Scotland Yard be giving you a first edition for your birthday, Tom?” Dumbledore asked, clearly skeptical. Tom launched up from the bed and snatched the package from the man’s hands.

“ _Because_ ,” Tom began, shaking in his anger. “He actually _cares_ about us! Is that so wrong, _Professor_? For someone to give a damn about a pair of measly orphans?” Cecilia held back a gasp at Tom’s cursing, he never cursed in front of others but she most certainly understood why he did in this case. _How dare this man_ , she thought, _how dare he think the worst of us, of Tom, and not even try to know us?_ She got up from the bed and went over to place a gentle hand on Tom’s shoulder. He was still shaking. Her normally light brown eyes were dark and cloudy. She was _seething_.

“Get out,” she demanded lowly. The man looked startled at her command and the amount of anger directed toward him. He still hadn’t left. “ _Get!_ _Out!_ ” The girl shouted at the old man, the door to Tom’s room flew open, and a gust of wind was pushing Dumbledore out of it. Professor Albus Dumbledore realized two things as he quickly left Wool’s Orphanage. The first being that he had just made some powerful enemies in those children. The second was that the pair of them could take over the world if they wanted to. And he would do everything he could to stop them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think! Likes, dislikes, everything in between! I love me some constructive comments and criticism! Thank you, again for reading! It means a lot to me! Bless you and your darling face, my friends!  
> Sincerely,  
> your dear guardian angel


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me forever and a day to get this shit posted, I have good reason: college happened. Like it's a total mess, fams. Anyway, thank you eternally for your patience and kudos and love!!! It makes my life and with this year ending, I should have some time over the summer to make up for not posting for forever!!  
> Thank you again, guys!!! <3

Chapter 3:

Once Dumbledore was gone, the children breathed a sigh of relief. Tom wrapped Cecilia back into his arms when she began to cry again, this time over her loss of temper. “I’m sorry I shouted, Tom, I should have controlled myself,” she cried into his shoulder. He rubbed her back and held her tighter.

“It’s alright to lose your temper every now and then. The bastard set my wardrobe on fire and accused us of stealing, you had every right to be angry,” Cecilia giggled a little at his cursing. “Why do you always laugh when I curse?” 

“You normally talk so proper, especially around other people, I just think it’s sweet how you feel comfortable enough to curse around me, I know you never do around the other girls, even when they make you mad,” she explained with a fond smile, drying her tears with Officer Jimmy’s old handkerchief. 

“That’s because you’re not a doll to me, you’re _real_. You’re alive and breathing to me and that’s more than they’ll ever be. You’re my equal, Cecilia, you’re my only friend in this world. Even Officer Jimmy doesn’t know everything about me, but you do. You know me and you listen and you _care_ so you’re real to me. You aren’t plastic like everyone else. We can do amazing things together, Cece, just you and me,” Cecilia nodded filled with more joy than she’d ever known until that moment. She hugged Tom in a fierce embrace. She was more than willing to stay happily in his arms for as long as he let her. He let her go after a moment, only to walk her over to his cot, his hand in hers. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. “Do you want to open this together?” Tom asked, gesturing to the package still in his hand. She nodded as she curled into his lap and leaned her head onto his shoulder. He tucked a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes behind her ear, causing her to look up and give him a bright smile. 

“So are you going to open your birthday present or not, Tom?” She asked him with a light laugh. He nodded and began tearing at the wrapping paper. There he found a shiny new copy of T. H. White’s  _ Story of Arthur and The Sword in the Stone _ , he’d been eyeing the book for some time now and here it was, a first edition, if the tag on the paper was anything to go by. Tom excitedly opened the book to look inside. When he did, a folded piece of paper and a couple pound notes fell out of the book, where the cover met the title page, and onto the floor. Cecilia stooped to pick them up for him as she was still sat in his lap and he couldn’t reach it. She opened the folded paper and allowed Tom to read it with her. 

_ Dear Tom, _

_Cece told me that you had your eye out for this book and I figured that you would truly appreciate a first edition copy, so I talked to a couple mates of mine who pulled some strings and, well, here you are. Also in here you’ll notice that Margaret included a couple pounds, I told her how much you two to read and learn so we were hoping it would help you buy your books for school. Mrs. Cole told me that you two were going to a boarding school in Scotland and Margie and I were talking about bringing the pair of you home with us for the hols and all that, but only if you and Cece want to, of course. You’ll likely make plenty of friends who’d love to spend Christmas with you both. Just think about it, Tom, our home is always open to you both. Happy 11th birthday, Tom. We hope you enjoy it, even though I know that place is drearier than a cemetery most of the time. If you’d like, you two could come by the Yard and I’ll take you for a walk to get some hot chocolate. Not that I’m encouraging you pair to run off, of course, Margie would have my head. Anyway, happy birthday and we hope to see you soon._

_ Best wishes, _

_ Jimmy and Margie _

Cecilia was crying and Tom was misty-eyed. No one had ever shown them such care at Wool’s. “We need to go to the Yard,” Tom said, voice cracking slightly. “I want to thank him and Margaret personally.” Cecilia agreed immediately. They went downstairs to Mrs. Cole’s office. “We’re going to see Officer Jimmy, Mrs. Cole,” Tom informed her, voice firm and strong. The matron didn’t much care anymore where they went really, since they pretty much took care of themselves and generally stayed out of trouble when they were with their constable friend. The pair left Wool’s quickly and made the trek down to Scotland Yard. The receptionist knew them well enough by now that she just smiled and waved them in.

“He’s in his office,” she said kindly. “Oh, and happy birthday, Tom!” The boy blushed, not used to so many people knowing his birthday, or caring for that matter. They walked past all the other officers who greeted them warmly, most wishing Tom a happy birthday. Cecilia and Tom knocked on Jimmy’s office door.

“It’s open!” The man called. They opened the door and walked inside to find Jimmy’s nose buried in some paperwork. He seemed to sign the last paper with a flourish before looking up at the two eleven-year-olds. “Well isn’t it my favourite troublemakers,” Jimmy exclaimed cheerfully. “You came just in time, I just finished all my nasty paperwork and I’m dying for some hot chocolate, would you two care to join me?” They nodded in the affirmative with childish grins on their faces. He would have loved to take the pair into his home permanently but, since Margie miscarried, the couple could hardly bear to have children running around that weren’t their own.

So Jimmy eased the pain by caring for them as best he could. Showing them love and affection he  _ knew _ they weren’t getting at that damn orphanage. He escorted the pair out of the building and into the snowy streets of London. They found a nearby café where they sat and talked and laughed for a while. Tom thanked Jimmy emphatically for his presents, both the money and the book. He said it was far too much, that he should take it back but the man insisted that it was the least he could do. Eventually though, Tom stopped his insistence, albeit reluctantly. Cecilia laughed at the pair. 

They were two of the only people in her dark, lonely world that could make her laugh fully and feel less isolated from the rest of humanity. She felt like she was a part of something warm and safe, like she had a family again, when she was with them. Margie was included in that group too, of course, as well as some of the other bobbies who worked with Jimmy, but Margie was like a surrogate mother to Tom and herself. She knew Tom would never admit it to anyone but her though. She also knew that the couple were very unlikely to adopt Tom and she, as they were older and not siblings. Cecilia hazarded to guess that Jimmy and Margie would like to naturally produce children, if they could, or, if not, they would adopt an infant or a young child, not children who were eleven-years-old. It hardly mattered though, Tom and she weren’t expecting to ever be adopted, as depressing as that seemed. The other children had crushed those dreams rather quickly. They always made certain Tom and Cecilia looked completely undesirable. It wasn’t as though they were highly desirable in the first place, as they had demanded that, if anyone was interested in taking in one, the other would have to be taken in as well. They were a packaged deal. That would never change. 

“I heard you had a visitor from a school today,” Jimmy began. He noticed the children stiffen and their eyes darken. “I suppose it didn’t go well, did it?” 

“You could say that,” Tom told him ominously. 

“The professor was quite rude, to say the least,” Cecilia explained. “He accused Tom and I of stealing and brought up my family’s death, amongst other things.”

“What in God’s name is this man doing teaching children if he treats them like this?” Jimmy was clearly incensed. Could these two never catch a break? What in the world would cause a grown man to bully children who have already gone through more hell than most could even imagine. And to bring up their hell? That was something unimaginable to Jimmy. How could  _ any _ one, let alone an  _ educator _ , pick at the vulnerable scabs of orphans? 

“We were pretty baffled by that as well. But it’s really nothing unusual, Jimmy, we’re used to it by this point.” Tom tried to reassure the kind man but it only made him more upset.

“That’s the point, Tom, you two  _ shouldn’t _ be used to it! And you shouldn’t expect to receive the same treatment from someone who’s meant to teach you!”

"Of course we know that, Jimmy, but it's just how our lives are at this point." Cecilia responded sadly. Jimmy sighed and shook his head.

"Well, I certainly hope that the rest of your teachers aren't as big of arseholes as this bastard," this made the children laugh and nod their heads in agreement. 

"We hope so too, Jimmy, we hope so too," Tom chuckled. The officer smiled then checked his watch. 

"I suppose it's time to get you two back home. I've still got some work to do back at the Yard." Jimmy told them, standing. The children rose too and followed their guardian as he walked them back to Wool's. The trio walked in silence until they reached the imposing gates of the orphanage where Jimmy stooped down and gave them both hugs, wishing Tom another 'happy birthday' before walking away. The pair of children smiled at the retreating form of one of the only people who loved them. But now they were alone again, alone and unable to call upon Jimmy in regards to the particular issue of their new school and their supposed "magic". He could _never_ know that side of them, he wouldn't understand and they both knew that. So, despite all the love that Jimmy and Margie gave them, they could never love _all_ of them. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a billion, my dears!!! Please comment, kudos, etc. and continue being amazing!!   
> You all are brilliant,  
> Your Tragically Late Guardian Angel <3

**Author's Note:**

> Questions, comments, concerns? Give me it all! I would love to hear whatever constructive comments you have for me! Thank you so much for reading! Bless you and your beautiful faces!  
> Sincerely,  
> Your devoted guardian angel ;)


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